DMK leaders pitch for Dravidian model of government in Puducherry after 2026 polls

Speaking from the position of being the principal Opposition party in Puducherry’s Legislative Assembly, DMK leaders while addressing a training programme for Booth Level Agents made a clarion call to party workers to ensure the victory of DMK candidates in all 30 Assembly constituencies for bringing a Dravidian model of government in the Union Territory.

“We were in power in Puducherry in the past. The recent governments have failed to make the territory a developed region. Statehood is a must to ensure growth and it can be achieved only by our party like how the rights of the people of Tamil Nadu are protected by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. We should win all 30 seats in the Union Territory to ensure the Dravidian model of governance in Puducherry,” said S. Jagathrakshakan, MP and coordinator for party’s Udanpirappe Vaa programme in Puducherry.

The region’s status as a Union Territory has made it lag in development because the elected government was rendered powerless owing to the control exerted over the administration by the Centre. The situation must change to enrich the elected government with power to take decisions on its own, he said. 

“We only can get Statehood for Puducherry. The DMK has proved its mettle to govern despite having an unfriendly government at the Centre. Our Chief Minister fights for the rights of people through legal means and in the same way, our party will fight for Puducherry’s Statehood in courts. For that, the Union Territory needs a DMK government,” he said.

Later in an interaction with reporters, Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries T. R. B. Raja said the people of Puducherry wished to see the functioning of a Dravidian model of government in the Union Territory after witnessing the strides Tamil Nadu has made in the last four years. “People want to have a Dravidian model of government after seeing the governance provided by Mr. Stalin. There will be a spillover effect in Puducherry,” he said. 

DMK, an ally of Congress, last formed a government in Puducherry around 25 years ago. After that, the Dravidian party had only played a second fiddle to the Congress in all the polls. The party’s fortunes changed in the last elections, when it won 6 of the 13 seats it contested in alliance with the Congress, the CPI and the VCK. The Congress could manage to secure only 2 seats of the 14 it contested in the 2021 elections. 

After the electoral outcome of 2021, the DMK leadership had been making public comments of taking over the leadership of INDIA bloc in Puducherry. Opposition leader and DMK convenor R. Siva had made very critical remarks on the Congress party after it fared badly in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

“In the last two decades, we have been asking for more Assembly seats but this time we will be seeking a dominant role from our present strength in the Assembly. We have already conveyed to our leaders in Tamil Nadu our wish to contest in more seats in 2026 polls,” said a senior party functionary.